Cougars Win Las Vegas Classic, Roll Past Nebraska

LAS VEGAS -- BYU had another great night shooting to claim the HoopTV Las Vegas Classic title with a win over Nebraska, 88-66 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

The Cougars' 12-1 record is their best mark through 13 games in the last 22 years. BYU won its first 17 games of the year to begin the 1987-88 season.

One day removed from setting career highs, junior guards Jimmer Fredette and Jackson Emery gave a solid encore performance. Fredette took tournament MVP honors, scoring 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting.

Emery followed up a 25-point effort against Nevada with 23 points including four treys and 7-of-7 shooting from the free throw line. Emery and Tyler Haws earned all-tournament honors.

“I am really happy with how we played offensively here,” said BYU head coach Dave Rose. “The game against Eastern Washington and coming into these two games it seems like the guys are playing with confidence and sharing the ball.”

Freshman forward Brandon Davies came off the bench to score 14 points, the best output of his younger Cougar career, hitting 6-of-7.

BYU scored 88 points and shot 61.2 percent on a Nebraska team that had kept opponents to averages of 55.0 ppg and 38.5 percent shooting in its previous 11 games.

Jimmer Fredette hit two baseline jumpers to start the game for BYU. After a Cornhusker basket, the Cougars added seven points on two buckets by Chris Miles and three free throws from Jackson Emery after the junior was fouled on a three-point attempt.

Emery stroked three treys to key a 33-5 run by BYU, which hit 13-of-15 shots to take a 38-5 lead. Haws and Fredette added five points apiece during the run.

“Our coaches did a great job with a quick turnaround,” Rose said. “We needed to trust each other and not worry about what they were doing. At the beginning of the game we were really flying up and down the court.”

The second period was a different half, same story, with Fredette and Emery leading on the offensive end. Fredette scored three field goals early while Emery followed with a quick four points and his fourth trey of the game to push the lead to 70-46.

BYU returns to action on Monday, Dec. 28, at Arizona. The game is scheduled to tip at 7 p.m.

CLICK HERE for game notes and quotes.

Official Basketball Box Score
Nebraska vs BYU
12/23/09 7:30pm at Las Vegas Classic
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VISITORS: Nebraska 9-2
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
05 Henry, Sek.......... *  2-7    0-3    2-2    0  0  0   3   6  2  1  1  0  20
13 Ubel, Brandon....... *  3-7    0-1    1-2    2  3  5   0   7  0  4  0  0  24
15 Gallegos, Ray....... *  0-2    0-1    0-0    0  3  3   1   0  1  1  0  0  21
21 Diaz, Jorge Brian... *  3-5    0-0    1-2    0  1  1   4   7  0  1  1  0  18
34 Jeter, Lance........ *  1-6    0-1    1-2    1  1  2   4   3  5  3  0  1  32
01 Jones, Eshaunte.....    6-11   5-7    4-4    0  3  3   2  21  2  0  0  1  27
02 Holley, Myles.......    1-3    0-0    1-1    1  0  1   2   3  2  2  0  0  11
03 Richardson, Brandon.    3-5    1-1    6-8    0  0  0   1  13  2  0  0  2  21
12 Karn, Matt..........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
23 Hankins-Cole, Quincy    2-3    0-0    0-2    1  1  2   4   4  0  0  0  0  15
24 Coleman, Adrien.....    1-2    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   2  0  2  0  1   5
35 Nelson, Ben.........    0-1    0-0    0-0    1  1  2   3   0  0  0  0  0   5
   TEAM................                         1  3  4
   Totals..............   22-52   6-14  16-23   7 17 24  24  66 14 14  2  5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-29 34.5%   2nd Half: 12-23 52.2%   Game: 42.3%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-8  37.5%   2nd Half:  3-6  50.0%   Game: 42.9%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 12-16 75.0%   2nd Half:  4-7  57.1%   Game: 69.6%    3
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HOME TEAM: BYU 11-1
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
04 EMERY, Jackson...... *  6-9    4-6    7-7    0  8  8   1  23  3  1  0  3  35
23 HAWS, Tyler......... *  3-5    1-2    0-0    1  3  4   2   7  1  2  0  0  33
32 FREDETTE, Jimmer.... *  8-12   0-2    8-9    0  3  3   3  24  4  3  1  1  34
34 HARTSOCK, Noah...... *  2-4    0-0    0-0    0  3  3   2   4  2  2  1  0  25
54 MILES, Chris........ *  2-2    0-0    0-4    1  1  2   2   4  2  1  0  0  20
00 DAVIES, Brandon.....    6-7    0-0    2-6    2  2  4   4  14  0  2  0  0  14
01 ABOUO, Charles......    0-1    0-0    1-2    0  0  0   0   1  0  0  0  0   3
02 MORGAN, JR., Lamont.    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   2   0  1  2  0  1   6
10 LOYD, JR., Michael..    1-2    1-1    0-0    1  1  2   1   3  0  1  0  0   8
12 MAGNUSSON, Logan....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   2
13 ZYLSTRA, Brock......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0  0+
15 ANDERSON, James.....    0-1    0-0    1-2    1  0  1   0   1  0  0  0  0   2
45 TAVERNARI, Jonathan.    2-6    1-5    2-2    0  3  3   2   7  3  1  0  0  18
   TEAM................                         2  3  5
   Totals..............   30-49   7-16  21-32   8 27 35  19  88 16 15  2  5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-24 66.7%   2nd Half: 14-25 56.0%   Game: 61.2%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  5-8  62.5%   2nd Half:  2-8  25.0%   Game: 43.8%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 12-17 70.6%   2nd Half:  9-15 60.0%   Game: 65.6%    5
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Officials: Chelette, Maddox, Banaria
Technical fouls: Nebraska-TEAM. BYU-None.
Attendance: 1817
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Nebraska......................   35   31  -   66
BYU...........................   49   39  -   88
Points in the paint-NU 24,BY 30. Points off turnovers-NU 16,BY 18.
2nd chance points-NU 3,BY 8. Fast break points-NU 0,BY 8.
Bench points-NU 43,BY 26. Score tied-0 times. Lead changed-0 times.
Last FG-NU 2nd-00:18, BY 2nd-01:15.
Largest lead-NU None, BY by 32 1st-08:47.